Charles Meldrum "Charlie" Daniels (born March 24, 1885 in Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

 - died August 9, 1973 in Carmel Valley Village, California

Carmel Valley Village, California

Carmel Valley Village is a census-designated place in Monterey County, California, United States. At the time of the 2010 census the population was 4,407, down from 4,700 at the 2000 census. In November 2009, a majority of residents voted against incorporation.-Geography and ecology:Carmel Valley...

) is a former American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 swimmer and eight-time Olympic medalist. Daniels was an innovator of the front crawl

Front crawl

The front crawl, forward crawl, or freestyle is a swimming stroke usually regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, the front crawl stroke is nearly universally used during a freestyle swimming competition, hence the synonymously used term "freestyle". It is one of two...

 swimming style, inventing the "American crawl".

Career

Daniels began his swimming career with the New York Athletic Club in 1903. At the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, Daniels became the first American to win an Olympic medal, winning gold medals in both the 200- and 400-meter freestyle races.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games
• List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games

Further reading

• "Eight Swimming Marks for Daniels", New York Times, January 1, 1911

External links

• Charles Daniels biography and Olympic results, from http://www.sports-reference.com/; retrieved 2010-09-21.